UV laser beamlett on full-windshield head-up display

• US 8,072,686 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2010
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Cui, Dehua, Seder, Thomas A., Szczerba, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sugarman, Scott J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jones, James
• Application Number:
  US12/726,566
• Publication Number:
  US 20100254019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 359/630, 359/633
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/723 by using numerical data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2207/123 Optical louvre elements, e.g. for directional light blocking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/105 with one or more pivoting mirrors or galvano-mirrors G02B26/101 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence

Abstract

An apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle includes an excitation light source projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command and a telescope for expanding the laser beam. The apparatus further includes a multi-mirror device including a plurality of mirrors sequentially irradiated by the expanded laser beam to simultaneously scan a plurality of laser beamlettes and the windscreen including a surface receiving the plurality of laser beamlettes, each of the received plurality of laser beamlettes emitting visible light upon the surface.

Claims

1. Apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an excitation light source projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command;

a telescope for expanding the laser beam;

a multi-mirror device including a plurality of input mirrors irradiated by the expanded laser beam to simultaneously scan a plurality of laser beamlettes in a first direction corresponding to a first axis and a plurality of output mirrors irradiated by the plurality of scanned laser beamlettes and directing the scanned laser beamlettes in a second direction corresponding to a second axis to desired regions of the windscreen; and

the windscreen comprising a surface receiving the plurality of scanned laser beamlettes from the output mirrors, each of the received plurality of scanned laser beamlettes emitting visible light upon the surface.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the excitation light source is an ultraviolet laser projector.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the excitation light source is one of at least two excitation light sources utilized to use separate excitation light wavelength ranges.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface is a substrate including a light emitting material configured to absorb the laser beamlettes and emit visible light.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface is a substrate including a plurality of layered light emitting materials, each layer substantially transparent to light except light with specific wavelength ranges which absorb the laser beamlettes and emit visible light.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the excitation light source is an infrared laser projector.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the multi-mirror device including the plurality of mirrors comprises a microelectromechanical system.

2. Apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an excitation light source projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command;

a telescope for expanding the laser beam;

a multi-mirror device including a plurality of mirrors sequentially irradiated by the expanded laser beam to simultaneously scan a plurality of laser beamlettes; and

the windscreen comprising a surface receiving the plurality of laser beamlettes, each of the received plurality of laser beamlettes emitting visible light upon the surface;

wherein the multi-mirror device including the plurality of mirrors comprises;

a first group of at least two respective input mirrors, each of the respective input mirrors irradiated by the expanded laser beam and configured to direct a respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes; and

a first group of at least two respective output mirrors, each of the respective output mirrors operatively corresponding to a respective one of the respective input mirrors and receiving the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes, wherein each of the respective output mirrors is irradiated and configured to independently direct the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes to a respective desired region on the surface.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the multi-mirror device including the plurality of mirrors further comprises:

a second group of at least two respective input mirrors, each of the respective input mirrors irradiated by the expanded laser beam and configured to direct a respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes; and

a second group of at least two respective output mirrors, each of the respective output mirrors operatively corresponding to a respective one of the respective input mirrors and receiving the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes, wherein each of the respective output mirrors is irradiated and configured to independently direct the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes to a respective desired region on the surface.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the respective input mirrors directs the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes in a first direction corresponding to a first axis.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the respective input mirrors directs the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes in a first direction corresponding to a first axis.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the respective output mirrors directs the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes in a second direction corresponding to a second axis.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the respective output mirrors directs the respective one of the plurality of laser beamlettes in a second direction corresponding to a second axis.

14. Apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an excitation light source projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command;

a telescope for expanding the laser beam;

a multi-mirror device including a plurality of mirrors sequentially irradiated by the expanded laser beam to simultaneously scan a plurality of laser beamlettes, wherein at least one of the plurality of laser beamlettes is utilized to generate a vector stroke graphic; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of laser beamlettes is utilized to generate a matrix-addressed graphic; and

the windscreen comprising a surface receiving the plurality of laser beamlettes, each of the received plurality of laser beamlettes emitting visible light upon the surface.

15. Apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an ultraviolet laser projector projecting an ultraviolet laser beam based upon a graphical image command;

a Galilean telescope for expanding the laser beam;

a microelectromechanical system device comprising;

a plurality of input mirrors irradiated by the expanded laser beam and directing a plurality of scanned laser beamlettes in a first direction corresponding to a first axis;

a plurality of output mirrors irradiated by the plurality of scanned laser beamlettes and independently directing the scanned laser beamlettes in a second direction corresponding to a second axis to desired regions of a surface; and

the surface receiving the scanned laser beamlettes from the output mirrors and comprising a plurality of layers of light emitting materials to absorb the laser beamlettes and emit visible light therefrom.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of layers of light emitting materials include phosphors for emitting one of red, green and blue visible light.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of output mirrors independently directs a respective one of the plurality of the scanned laser beamlettes to a respective desired region on the surface.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality of output mirrors comprises groups of the plurality of output mirrors wherein the respective plurality of output mirrors in each group independently directs respective ones of the scanned laser beamlettes to respective desired regions on the surface.

19. A method to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command;

expanding the laser beam;

irradiating a plurality of input mirrors with a portion of the expanded laser beam to provide a corresponding plurality of laser beamlettes;

irradiating a plurality of output mirrors with respective ones of the plurality of laser beamlettes provided by the plurality of input mirrors to provide the plurality of laser beamlettes to the substantially transparent windscreen head-up display;

directing the plurality of laser beamlettes in a first direction corresponding to a first axis with the plurality of input mirrors; and

directing the plurality of laser beamlettes in a second direction corresponding to a second axis with the plurality of output mirrors.